Whatever It Is
by Red - Eyed - Raven 93
Summary: Sequel of Whoever You Are... The Akatsuki had accepted Ren regardless of her dismal past. But, can they accept too her dark side?
1. The Mysterious Attacker

A/N: Ah well, sorry if it took me a long time to submit the sequel. I just have many things to do. The _italicized_ words mean that they are on the 'flashback' state.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Pairing(s): Sorry, you have to figure it out by yourself now. :D

* * *

Whatever It Is…

**Chapter I:**

**The Mysterious Attacker**

The night was cold and forbidden. Lightning tore across the dark skies. Heavens mourned and cried heavily. The trees stood calmly and let the heaven's tears wash them. Everything was silent and so as gloomy. Until…the lightning flashed again, the trees were bothered! Then again, again, and again, two obscure figures were jumping from one tree to another. They seemed to be in a hurry.

They wear black coats designed with red clouds. Their faces and hair were concealed because of the wet bamboo hats. They both wear rings that each have an insignia marked on them. At last, one of them raised his head and as the lightning flashed, it reflected the metal plates that were punctured on his face. He was Pein—the leader of the Akatsuki organization.

He and his partner, Konan were speeding from the Hidden Rain village to their secret hideout. They were almost there. Pein signaled Konan to jump faster so they can reach the hideout on time. Konan can see a slight look of worry drawn on her partner's face.

It all started when Tobi contacted them via telepathy. He's the only one to remain at the hideout since the others have gone out to continue their operation. Ever since Ren and Deidara have departed, Tobi always insisted to stay in the hideout. He always reasons that if ever Ren and Deidara return, who will be there to meet them? Pein agreed to let Tobi stay because he trusts him to take care of everything. It was just till then when they heard Tobi speak as if he had seen a ghost.

"_L-leader-sama," Tobi stammered, "p-please c-come here…Dei-Deidara-s-sempai…"_

"_What is it Tobi," Pein queried, "What happened to Deidara?"_

_Tobi was about to speak but instead, Pein and Konan heard Tobi's piercing cry._

At last, they have arrived at the mouth of the cave where the Akatsuki hideout lies. They first stopped in front of the door because Pein have felt something, something dangerous. Pein inspected the walls. Sure thing was he saw fine lines of string surrounding the whole entrance. Konan had carefully cut it out by transforming herself with dozens of papers and cutting the strings. After that, they entered the hideout cautiously.

* * *

Everything is a mess. All the furniture was either wrecked or turned upside-down. Pein proceeded further then he heard a noise of whimpering and moaning. He traced the sounds and he located it inside the closet. He opened it then he was surprised to see Tobi inside with blood smears on his mask and beside him was Deidara who was heavily injured. Tobi, who was still shaking, got out nervously then pulling our Deidara carefully then he put him on the couch.

"What happened here?" Konan said in a horrified face.

"Tobi was just scrubbing the floor." Tobi rapidly explained, "Then Tobi heard a noise outside. Tobi went out then Tobi saw Deidara-sempai covered with blood. After that, a girl with a scary mask suddenly appeared behind sempai and almost slashed sempai's back if Tobi hadn't pulled sempai and took Deidara-sempai into the closet."

"Then why the furniture's all wrecked up?" Pein asked next.

"The girl was very furious that the girl turned everything upside-down then from the gap between the closet doors, Tobi saw the girl vanished into the thin air."

Pein fell silent to collect his thoughts. Who was the mysterious attacker? What does she want from them? Was she a bounty hunter or an ANBU?

"Pein-san," Konan called, "what shall we do next?"

"Call Zetsu, Itachi, and Kisame," Pein ordered, "tell them that there's an emergency and them must return here quickly."

Konan obeyed quickly. Tobi went out to get some medicine. Pein just stood still. He feels that something's wrong around the place. He feels that they were being watched by someone. Who can that be?

Suddenly, behind the shadows, the masked attacker appeared from the dismal corner of the room and attempted to hit Deidara. But Pein have felt this and used his summoning justu to interfere with the attack. Furious, the attacker vanished again into the darkness and tried again to attack Deidara which she had failed miserably.

Finally, the enemy revealed herself fully. She was an ANBU with a somewhat broken mask. She looks like a mummy because she cannot stand still and always look sluggish when she walks. Her hair was blood red and long. She was as tall as Ren and has a pale skin.

Pein wanted to fight her there on the spot but Zetsu, Itachi, and Kisame have come that the enemy retreated

"Gee," Kisame exclaimed, "what happened here?"

Pein made no response to Kisame's question instead, he instructed them to guard the hideout while he goes out to pursue the enemy. Despite of the protest, Pein went out into the cold, damp environment followed by Konan.

It seems that the mysterious attacker wants to be followed, for she has left shurikens stuck to every other tree. The two followed carefully. They didn't mind the cold rain falling on their heads. They just want to find the enemy and finish her.

The trail ended on a small clearing a few miles away from the Hidden Rain Village. They have founded the masked enemy on the center of the clearing: sitting as if she expects something. As Pein and Konan approached, she lifted her head to look at them while sluggishly standing up. When the lightning flashed and illuminated Pein's slashed forehead protector, she gave an evil chuckle.

"Ah, so you're from Hidden Rain." The mysterious ANBU said, "I can't believe how fate favors me. It was just a week after my return to this world. Now I can have my revenge on you, accursed people of Rain."

"If you want us," Pein asked seriously, "why did you attack Deidara?"

The ANBU gave a scary laugh before answering, "That blonde haired boy just meddled in my plans. I got furious that I have felt I have to dispatch him."

Pein secretly clenched his teeth, "This being is just like Orochimaru." He said to himself

"Pein-san," whispered Konan, "should we attack?"

Pein positioned himself to summon another creature. "If you want us then leave Deidara out of this."

* * *

An hour has passed after Pein have left the hideout. Deidara is still unconscious while Tobi was binding his wounds. Itachi just stood on his guard while Zetsu used again his ability to blend at the environment to act as a scout. Kisame paced around the room back and forth while trying to think about what happened earlier.

"I still don't get it." Zetsu's white side mumbled, "If that's an ANBU, then she wouldn't attack alone."

"**The funny thing is,"** Zetsu's dark side replied, **"she IS alone. I don't think it is her mission but rather…"**

"Personal grudges?" Zestu's white side put in helpfully, "But who can that be?"

Before anyone can do another thing, Deidara finally gained consciousness. All of them gathered beside him to know if he is just alright. But Deidara didn't care about himself; he wants to know where Ren is.

"Ren," Kisame reflected, "yeah, I haven't seen Ren since. You're supposed to be with her, right?"

Itachi paled. He's the first one to enter the hideout so he's just the one who can get a somewhat clear view of the assailant. A thought came into his mind but he quickly shunned it and returned to his post.

"I hope my theory is wrong." Itachi mumbled.

* * *

Minutes have passed but still, Pein hasn't won the game. Unfortunately, Konan was all soaked with rain water that she can't use her specialty effectively. She can just help by throwing a few kunai. Pein used his summoning jutsus to have the summons do the job of fighting the enemy. But the assailant's huge, silver, bladed boomerang can sweep the summons on one strike with great accuracy.

Finally, the masked enemy climb on the tallest tree and exclaimed, "Enough of this play! I don't have to waste time on you. I just want you people to feel how painful you have done to me in the past. I intend to spread my judgment on the whole country!"

And by those words, without Pein or Konan moving and inch, she waved her hand and at the same time, Konan fell onto the ground. Pein, who was greatly shocked, rushed beside Konan and held her in his arms.

"P-Pein-san," Konan apologized, "I'm sorry, it's too fast for me. I can't see it."

"A slow, painful, inevitable, death for all who resides in Rain…" the ANBU chuckled evilly.

"It's not your fault." Pein assured her, then looking at the ANBU with fire in his eyes he said, "You're going down."

Pein stood up and summoned all his forms. He attacked the enemy with all the jutsus he had known. But it was of no use. The enemy dodged all of those attacks. Then it was the enemy's turn to attack. At the wave of her hand strings had bound Pein and his forms' hand and feet. Every time it senses chakra activity or movement, it tightens. Then she walked in front of Pein.

"Oh," she said sarcastically, "have I committed a foul play? I don't like that to happen." Then she left.

"Where are you going, coward?" Pein asked weakly

The ANBU hadn't answered the question directly, "If you want to settle the score, bring her away from here and let's finish this same time, same place tomorrow.", Then vanished into thin air.

* * *

The rain had finally stopped. But everyone in the hideout still stands on their guard. At last, Pein appeared from the doorway, carrying the barely breathing Konan. Pein hung his head and looked grief-stricken. No one asked a question nor moved. Deidara, who was now much better, left the couch so Pein can put Konan there. After that, he walked slowly out of the hideout.

"Leader-sama," Zetsu asked with concern, "where are you going?"

Pein just stopped walking, "I'm going to settle the score with her."

"With the red-haired ANBU, un?" Deidara asked suddenly

Pein nodded his head sully. Deidara's blue eye widened but he said nothing when Pein left the hideout. Itachi sensed Deidara was hiding something that right after their leader has left.

"Deidara," Itachi said seriously, "are you hiding something from us?"

Deidara confessed, "I-I don't know. Maybe I do, un."

"What is it?" Tobi asked eagerly when he heard Deidara speaking

Deidara lowered his head and said gravely, "Ren IS the mysterious attacker, un."

Itachi and the others were surprised, "I can't believe that my theory is correct." Itachi murmured.

"WHAAAT!?" Tobi exclaimed, "B-but Ren-san's hair was black not red!"

"I know, un" Deidara explained, "But ever since she went out of the cave, her hair was red and she became hostile."

"We must rescue Ren-san!" Tobi urged, "Leader-sama might kill Ren-san!"

* * *

A/N: I hope you had enjoyed reading this fic. Reviews are welcome, as always.


	2. Settling the Score

A/N: Sorry if it took a long time to finish this.

* * *

Whatever It Is…

**Chapter II:**

**Settling the Score**

The next day, rain again poured over the earth. In a few minutes, trees, the soil, and everything under the sky were fully soaked in the ice cold rain water. Then, the dark clouds clumped together in a huge mass and lightning tore the skies. It made the whole place damp and gloomy.

Pein, regardless of the harsh weather, stood still. He holds his head up high and his eyes closed: as if feeling the rain water patter on his face, flow through his cloak then down to the feet. Even though calm and relaxed outside, he was eager to get even with the masked assailant. He continued to be in that gesture until suddenly, he threw a kunai in front of him on the dark open space. Amazingly, the kunai stopped on mid-air, as if it was strangled onto some kind of vines.

Pein looked sharply at the direction where the kunai stopped. With a deep vice, he asked impatiently, "What took you so long?"

The kunai dropped on the soft, moistly ground. After a long silence, a silent chuckle followed. Pein strained his eyes to see through the dark space. The lightning illuminated the place but not a soul was in sight there. Another lightning flashed followed; there was the enemy of his.

"My, my, aren't we eager?" the ANBU asked jokingly.

A curt reply came, "Let's get this over with."

"Excited, I see." The ANBU said while pulling out the huge, silver boomerang from her back, "I don't intend to waste time too so let us begin!"

The masked assailant made the first move. She threw the boomerang strongly to Pein. Pein dodged the attack by jumping. While in mid-air, he summoned a chameleon which coiled the ANBU and made her unable to retaliate. He landed on the ground and started walking towards the wriggling ANBU. He thought he had won the fight but when he came near, Pein saw in his very own eyes that the chameleon became visible and suddenly fell into pieces. Pein realized that she made strings out of chakra and she has the advantage now so he backed off a few meters away. But he made a wrong move.

He didn't realize that the ANBU can control the movement of the boomerang at her own will. Worse is that her is at the very same angle where the ANBU had thrown the boomerang. Fortunately, Pein had seen her moving her fingers as if tugging something. He knew now that she was up to no good but it was too late to evade completely the attack. It slashed his left arm deeply. While he staggered to his feet to regain his balance while holding his bloody left arm, the ANBU laughed.

"Is that all you can do?" she taunted, "I thought you are strong because you haven't lost a battle."

Her statement put Pein into a big surprise, "How did you—!?"

"You cannot hide anything from me." the ANBU boasted, "Including that Rin'nengan of yours."

* * *

Tobi dashed through the woods. He has to set off alone this time because Deidara isn't well yet to go with him. Itachi and Kisame stayed with Deidara at the hideout. Zetsu had gone of ahead of him to tell Tobi where their leader is. As soon as he got the coordinates, he dashed off. Tobi decided to faster, even though he slipped at the puddles a few times. He fears that if Ren is the masked attacker, he might never see Ren breathing again for what she had done to Konan. Surely, Pein would likely to kill her without knowing that she is Ren.

Tobi stopped when he saw Zetsu's two-sided head sticking out on a trunk of a tree. He tiptoed towards Zesu then looked at Pein then at the masked enemy. He shivered not because of the cold rain; he shivered at the ghastly aura that the masked ANBU releases when anyone sees her. Tobi shunned that feeling for awhile and tried to get a feeling of the situation.

"What is happening around here, Zetsu-sama?" Tobi queried

"Leader-sama is in big trouble." Zetsu put up plainly.

Their leader is indeed in big trouble. Almost every jutsu that he tried seemed to be like trash in front of the ANBU. But the ANBU's attacks seemed to be like some unknown bloodline jutsu. He can't trace where the attacks would came from—the enemy was at the left side but the attack would come from the other side. He also summoned all of his five forms but he is still having difficulty on defeating her.

Tobi was watching at the fight that he didn't notice that he stepped on a twig lying nearby. It made a huge noise but because of the intense fighting occurring to the two, they didn't notice that sound. Tobi sighed thankfully as he carefully placed his feet where no twigs are lying.

At last one of Pein's forms had hit the enemy's mask that the half of it crumbled down and it revealed to everybody who their enemy was—Ren."R-Ren-san," Tobi stammered, "why are you fighting with leader-sama?"

Nobody heeded to Tobi's question. Ren and Pein still continued the fight. Pein and his other forms continued attacking simultaneously. Ren didn't seem to be bothered by these attacks and just side-stepped when she sees them coming. Ren finally attacked. She summoned three kagebunshins out of nowhere and surrounded Pein and his forms. In a flash, Pein and his forms were tied together in some chakra string. Then, Ren tugged again the boomerang to her hand again.

"If I were you," Ren advised to Pein while positioning herself to make a one, clean shot, "I wouldn't do anything stupid. If you did, those poisonous strings would tighten. When they come in contact with your skin, the poison automatically seeps through your pores and killing you almost instantly."

Tobi knows that he must do something before Ren ended Pein's life, "Ren-san, stop it!" he shouted as loud as he could.

Ren suddenly stopped. She looked at Tobi at the corner of her eye. After some silence, she said solemnly, "Tobi-kun?"

"Ren-san," Tobi called out happily, "you can remember Tobi!"

Ren's visible eye suddenly widened, "T-Tobi…." She stammered then she kneeled and put her hand on her head then shook her head violently, "W-who is Tobi? Why do I know his name? She has something to do with this!"

"Ren-san, what's happening?" Tobi asked in confusion.

Suddenly, Ren, eyed on him savagely, "What did you do; how can you make her want to occupy this body again!?"

"Tobi doesn't understand what Ren-san is talking about!"

"Tobi!" Zetsu scowled, "What the heck are you doing!?"

Ren caught a glimpse of Zetsu, "Z-Zetsu-san?" then she cringed again.

"What!? I know him too!?" Ren said again with utter surprise, "No, I don't. It's her who knows them. But why do I recognize them? Does she want to go back? No, it cannot be!"

**"Does Ren-chan to have an another side?" **Zetsu's dark side asked excitedly

"Shut up, this is no laughing matter." Zetsu's white side reprimanded.

"I-I must finish you b-before she can get back again!" Ren scowled.

"Ren-san calm down!" Tobi called out.

Then, as if she's possessed, Ren seemed to be struggling with herself. After a few times of almost slashing herself into pieces ,Ren suddenly called out, "Tobi-kun, Zetsu-san, Leader-sama, run now! She's mad!"

"What is happening?" Zetsu's white side asked.

**"Dunno." **

Pein took advantage of the situation. He knows a jutsu to counter this type of attack. Stealthily, he made the hand seal then the strings got loose. While Ren was in a delirious condition, he used a summoning jutsu to knock Ren out. Then, confidently that he won, he walked towards Ren. Fearing that, Ren is going to be killed by their leader, Tobi rushed in.

"Leader-sama, please don't kill Ren-san!" Tobi pleaded, "Tobi knows that Ren-san almost made Konan-san almost dead but Tobi thinks that the one who did that wasn't Ren-san!"

"What!?" Zetsu said

"Tobi, stay out of this." Pein said sharply.

"No!" Tobi said firmy, "Ren-san is innocent!"

"Hm," Zetsu mulled as he walked towards Pein, "leader-sama, maybe Tobi has a point, let's not be to rash in our judgments."

Pein looked hesitantly at the unconscious Ren, "Maybe you're right, let's just get her back to the hideout and watch her closely."

* * *

Tobi carried Ren on his back all the way to the Akatsuki hideout. When they have arrived, Pein walked fast to his room to check Konan. Kisame was really asking questions eagerly; even Itachi came to ask what happened. Only Deidara didn't welcome or see Ren. He reasoned that he still to weak to go move.

"Honestly," Deidara said on the back of his mind, "I'm just still afraid to face her, un."

Tobi quickly took Ren to her room and laid her down to her bed. After that, he grabbed a chair and dragged it inside the room for him to sit. For hours, he cannot understand what happened earlier. He tried to think what Ren was saying but he cannot find a suitable conclusion. A forbidden idea came into Tobi's mind. Even he hesitated to use it. It might bring him to trouble. But it is the only way he can think of to find out what's wrong.

Tiptoeing to the door and creaking it a bit open, he saw that no one's interested to bother Ren. Satisfied at the situation, he closed the door and sealed it shut so no one can go inside. Then walking beside Ren, he held his hand to the right part of his mask, covering the only eyehole that he has.

"Maybe this is the only way." Tobi said to himself then looking at Ren, "Sorry, Ren."

He removed his hand at the mask. A red glow appeared on the eyehole. It has a red iris with three pupils—it is Sharingan.

"I'm risking my true identity just to know what's happening with you." Tobi whispered, "I'm going inside your head!"

* * *

A/N: As you can see, I don't know if Pein's forms have names so I left them unnamed. Please let me know if you know their names. Thank You. Reviews are always welcome.


	3. The Substance and the Shadow

A/N: Well, good thing that I've finished this earlier than expected. Enjoy reading!

* * *

Whatever It Is…

**Chapter III:**

**The Substance and the Shadow**

This is the moment of truth, Tobi would use his mysterious Sharingan—the Uchiha clan's bloodline limit—to know the secret of Ren's whereabouts. He instantly transported to Ren's mind. He looked around the dark, misty place but he saw no one. He walked cautiously through the foreign area. He can hear now clashing of weapons. Tobi knows that Ren could be in trouble so he ran according to the direction of the sound that he heard earlier. Tobi at last saw Ren—the Ren that he had known in the past, not the mad, vengeful ANBU.

"Ren-san, you're alive!" Tobi cried joyfully as he ran towards his former comrade.

Ren was surprised to see him there. "Tobi, how come you could get inside my head?"

Tobi shook his head sadly, "Gomen, Tobi could not tell you how." He said gravely.

"Is that so?" said Ren sadly. She looked behind Tobi and she saw a speckle of light behind him, "Tobi, duck!" she shrieked as she pulled Tobi down.

Just in time, the light come spinning past Tobi's head. It landed on the floor with a big noise. Tobi got up to see what almost hit them—it was the silver bladed boomerang that the Ren look-alike uses. Ren got up after Tobi and pulled out a kunai on her bag. She instructed Tobi not to go far from her. Her voice seemed to be strong, but mixed with fear. Tobi, even though confused at what's happening, came close to her without any questions.

"I thought you realized what you have been doing lately." A voice boomed out, "I was wrong."

"I almost gave the full control of this body if you just hadn't hurt my friends!" Ren called out angrily.

"If they just co-operate with me, this wouldn't happen." The voice countered.

"Liar, you really wanted to kill them to make sure I would follow YOUR orders closely." Ren retorted.

"I am doing that because you had abused my kindness before and that wrong move destroyed all my dreams!" The voice fumed, "Now, I have to go back. This madness must end once and forever! We must accept the fact that we don't belong in this time!"

"No!" Ren stressed, "I know I was wrong when I did that. But can't you see that this is a good chance to start all over again."

"There's no hope for our kind. You've already know that." The voice answered sternly, "Actually, our only hope came when an icicle struck our heart and almost killed us. Our death would have set us free. If were just not for your selfish desires to make an accomplishment in your worthless life!"

Ren's eyes flamed as she spoke, "You're the one who's selfish, sis! You wanted to go to the after life because you'd discovered that he's dead. Next, you've learned that we are dying. That situation put again a light on your hopes that someday, you can say to him how much you love him—the thing you couldn't say while you're in front of his face when he's alive!"

A gust of wind suddenly blew strongly towards Ren and Tobi. Ren stood bravely on her ground while Tobi, because of the very strong wind, almost got caught in the gales and flew away. Luckily, Ren caught him and put him safely on the ground. Tobi sat on the ground as he looked around to find some traces where the speaker could be hiding. The voice boomed again much angrier than before.

"You speak as if you know everything." It cried furiously, "But in reality, you are just a mere…shadow!"

A figure came out in the shadows. She is indeed a Ren look-alike if weren't for her blood red hair. Like the usual, she tugged again the boomerang back to her hand. Her eyes were raven black with silver, vertical lines surrounding the steel gray pupil. She just stood there for awhile looking sharply at Ren. Tobi went behind Ren as they resume their hot conversation. Suddenly, the other Ren took notice of Tobi's presence there.

"Ah, you're the boy who boosted up her morale." She said bitterly, "I congratulate you for witnessing the great battle between the two, identical persons."

Ren suddenly butted in, "Don't even dare lay a finger on my friend, Akane!"

The Ren look-alike, who was called Akane, suddenly widened her eyes, "Akane? That's enough disrespect for the person who's your only friend and 'sister' in the past, ingrate! It's about time to teach you some manners and tell you again what your status here is!"

Ren braced herself, "You are still my 'sis' but everything's changed now. I'm not alone anymore and you're not the only one that is important to me now."

"Not alone, eh?" Akane mocked, "You're jesting. We are always alone, always forsaken. Everyone whom we had loved had flown away. They left us alone when we feel safe and secure around them. How sure are you that they are not going to do that to you again?"

Ren glanced at Tobi tenderly before answering, "I know they won't do it. I can feel it."

"Hmph, is that so?" Akane said gravely, "Then it's really the time to take over that place!"

* * *

"Kisame," asked the worried Deidara to his dark blue-haired Akatsuki member who was currently playing around with a large fishbowl filled with water then making tiny sharks inside the fishbowl, "have you seen Tobi lately, un?"

Kisame paused his activity for awhile then answered the blonde haired Deidara with a confused looked, "No, I didn't see him. It's kinda strange for him not to dope around."

"Well, he hadn't slept on his bed last night, where could he be, un?" He asked while looking around

"Maybe he's beside Ren-chan." Kisame said helpfully, "He's really worried about her condition."

"Oh well," Deidara sighed as he looked keenly at Ren's room, "maybe I should check in there. Thanks, un"

"No prob." Kisame said while resuming back to his 'work.'

* * *

BOOM! Ren smashed again onto one of the invisible walls of her small world. Akane seemed to be much, much more experienced into fighting than she is—that gave Akane an edge into this fight. Even in pain, Ren tried slowly to stand up still and pull again a kunai form her bag. Akane seemed to be enjoying this 'challenge less' fight as she leisurely dodge Ren's moves without any effort taken. She laughed loudly as Ren was gathering her strength back.

"I told you, my little shadow." Akane said as if to ridicule Ren's efforts, "I'm extremely stronger than you are."

Ren wiped off the blood smears on her cheeks while she looked sharply at Akane. Her eyes were not filled with hate as Akane was suspecting but it was filled with utter determination to protect the ones whom she loves and prove to her the opinions that she have was right. Ren looked exhausted but she didn't give up. She threw her a kunai which Akane quickly evaded but suddenly, the kunai multiplied in mid-air and spread away like a fan that one of the kunai scratched Akane's left cheek.

"Damn you!" Akane roared as she holds her injured cheek. She retaliated by throwing her huge boomerang towards her. But it wasn't just an ordinary attack. The boomerang released an unknown gas while spinning which only Ren got affected; making her terribly weak then she fainted. As the gas spreads throughout Ren's system, Akane walked towards her, grabbed her by the neck and pinned her against the invisible wall.

"Oh, don't call that foul play." Akane said coolly, "I've researched that for years just to find our weakness. And, there it is."

Tobi suddenly rushed in. He held on Ren and miraculously they phased through Akane's hand. They rolled again to the other side and Tobi put Ren safely into one corner and faced the surprised Akane.

"I won't let you hurt her." Tobi said in a deep voice.

Akane smiled as she tugged again the boomerang back to her, "Ah, you're just not a stupid stuff toy after all. What you did surprised me. Now—!" she suddenly stopped as she saw something strange on Tobi's eyehole. She snickered, "An Uchiha, eh, I'd seen that thing last time when I…" then she cut her sentence short, "It's a huge honor for me to fight an Uchiha in a battle."

"Good for you." Tobi said seriously as he readies himself to fight.

"T-Tobi-kun?" Ren stammered and immediately the Sharingan faded into the dark eyehole of Tobi's mask as he hurriedly went to her side.

"Ren-san!" Tobi said in his usual childish tone, "Are you alright?"

Ren held her forehead, "I-I guess so. What happened?"

"Akane-san released something then Ren-san fainted." Tobi reported.

"Oh." Ren murmured as she looked at Akane then something strange feeling fell upon her as she looked into her eyes. She just stared at Akane for a moment, making Tobi worried again.

"Is there something wrong, Ren-san?" Tobi asked

"Yes there is." Ren said while standing up, "It's surprising I haven't realized it sooner."

"What do you mean?" Tobi asked, baffled.

* * *

"It's closed, but why, un?" Deidara asked as he pushed the door of Ren's room. Then he got some of his clay and molded it into a spider he placed it in front of the door and went far from it, "Heh. heh, this would do the trick."

"What are you doing?" Itachi's voice came behind him.

Deidara wheeled to see Itachi behind him. A sign of disappointment has been shown on Deidara's face. "I'm checking if Tobi's in here, un." He replied tartly.

"I saw him come in there so don't worry about it." Itachi replied, "We've got something that'll surprise the whole Akatsuki. Is leader-sama in here?"

"Yeah, I think so, un." Deidara replied in a confused tone.

Itachi went ahead and called on Pein who was currently finding a way to save Konan. Soon, Zetsu entered the hideout, carrying a huge, black bag. He carried it gently and placed it on top of the couch. Deidara walked towards Zetsu as he opens the zipper slowly. He saw someone quite familiar into him that he stepped backwards a few feet away form the bundle. Pein came into the picture and looked at the bundle. He is too, surprised at what he had seen and asked where they found it.

"It was only Zetsu who had found it." Itachi confessed, "He just told me his discovery."

"I found it floating around the lake nearby." Zetsu told them, "Well, she's still breathing very weakly but I think she'll live. I brought her here because she looks like..."

"Ren, un." Deidara continued, "But she has blood red hair—like the one who attacked me."

* * *

"Ren-san, what's happening?" Tobi asked as Ren looked keenly at Akane.

"She's not sis!" Ren said finally.

* * *

A/N: Hope ya like it! Reviews are always and forever welcome.


	4. The Impostor

A/N: Sorry if it took so long to finish this and this is so short.

* * *

Whatever It Is…

**Chapter IV:**

**The Impostor**

The Akatsuki hideout became more silent than the usual—as if nobody's inside. The red haired stranger in an ANBU uniform still lied almost lifelessly on the couch. Itachi and Kisame were outside, gathering information about the stranger that Zetsu had found. Zetsu was on his usual post. He had blended himself on a nearby tree to see if any intruders would dare to enter the Akatsuki grounds. Pein, as if Konan was the only person in Akatsuki, still frantically searching for a cure. Deidara sat on a stool opposite to the direction where the stranger was lying down. Like a paranoid, he surrounded the whole couch with clay spiders then just to be safe, he also molded a tiny bird then he placed it under his sleeve.

Finally, the newcomer had come into her senses. Deidara jumped away and positioned himself to perform a hand seal.

"Who are you and why do you look like Ren, un?" Deidara asked cautiously.

"Ren?" the stranger asked.

"Don't act innocent, un! Tell me, what you did!?" Deidara asked impatiently.

"Cut it out!" Zetsu chimed in quickly.

"I thought you are scouting outside, un." Deidara said.

"**I was then I heard your yapping so I rushed in!" **Zetsu's dark side said irritably.

"Could you tell me please what is happening?" the newcomer asked.

"Alright," Zetsu said calmly, "I found you floating around nearby. You seemed to have the exact likeness of one of our comrades so I took you here."

"Exact likeness, but how?" the stranger said in bewilderment.

"I don't know also but your look-alike is in a critical condition." Zetsu sadly declared.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, un." Deidara said worriedly, "I think someone's controlling her."

The newcomer thought for awhile, "May I help with your predicament?" the stranger offered.

"How?"

"You just have to trust me." the stranger said coldly.

Just in time, Tobi got out of Ren's room looking on the dusty ground. Deidara rushed to him and asked what happened.

"Ren-san threw Tobi out." Tobi said sully.

Deidara ran inside but he saw that Ren was still lying unconscious on her bed, "What do you mean by 'threw you out', un?" he asked

But Tobi seemed to be not in the mood to chat with his partner. He ignored him and dragged himself to his room. He could still hear Deidara, Zetsu, and the newcomer talk but he didn't mind. He really felt bad at what Ren had done to him. He can't just get it. He locked the door behind him and sat on his bedside. He sighed a few times until he finally spoke a word.

"Why do you try to face your problems alone, Ren?" he whispered.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

"_Ren-san," Tobi asked, "how did you know that this girl is a fake?"_

"_Why didn't I realize it sooner? Sis would not do anything like this to me. Even though she's mad sometimes but she wouldn't push on me like this." Ren replied, "In addition, sis and I have the exact likeness."_

"_Not anymore." The ANBU said mischievously_

"_What do you mean!?" Ren said in confusion. _

"_It is true that I am not your 'sister'." The ANBU admitted, "But your sister was extremely furious at your act. She sought for my power—the power once you've owned, sealed within her body— to reverse the effects of the jutsu. I happily agreed, of course. But little did she know that I was just using her to copy her qualities? When I've already copied everything about her, I conveniently dispatched the little garbage! But that scoundrel loved you still very much that she did something before leaving this body so you wouldn't recognize me as your sister—to change her hair into blood red." _

"_You did what!?" _

"_She's probably dead by now. Not able to survive without a body."_

"_I can't believe it!" Ren shrieked, "My sis…subdued by a freak like you."_

"_You still have the portion of my power. It might be best if I am going to get that too."_

_Ren lowered her head, "Never…"_

"_Ren-san, what should we do?" Tobi asked worriedly._

"_Tobi, get out of here, now." Ren whispered_

"_Tobi won't leave without Ren-san!" Tobi insisted._

_Ren suddenly grabbed Tobi and threw him out of her head._

* * *

"Are you sure that we can trust this person, un?" Deidara asked Zetsu.

Zetsu shrugged his shoulders, "I don't really know, maybe we can just give her a chance."

The stranger seemed to sense the turmoil within them, "Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid."

Zetsu sighed heavily, "Alright, then do what you must."

The stranger walked beside Ren. She placed her palms facing Ren's head. Deidara and Zetsu waited anxiously as the newcomer closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, there was a black aura rose from the ground where the stranger was standing then she fainted. After that, the two members of Akatsuki rushed in and found her unconscious. They can only guess that the newcomer entered Ren's consciousness.

* * *

"So, you must be Ren." the stranger said interestingly at her look alike.

Ren widened her eyes, "You must be sis, for sure." She said with a big grin.

"Sis?" the stranger repeated, "There's only one person who called me that."

"That's me." Ren said proudly, "Now I am much pretty sure that you are Akane, right?"

"Absolutely." The true Akane replied, "I can't believe you have a name now."

Ren scratched her head as the fake one clapped her hands slowly.

"My, my, you're still alive. I should have finished you when I had a clear shot."

"I was foolish then." Akane admitted, "Brimming with anger and hatred."

"It doesn't really matter." The fake said, "Since you still a drop of power left in you, I can find something useful inside you."

* * *

Tobi finally stood up, "I won't let her do this alone." he murmured, "I think that thing was too powerful for her. I am going to help!"

He went out of his room and discovered that Zetsu and Deidara were inside Ren's quarters. Tobi secretly signaled Zetsu to lead Deidara out of the room lest he would discover Tobi's real identity. Zetsu knew who really Tobi was, advised Deidara that they should go out and rest in their rooms. Deidara refused and said that he can wait beside Ren but Zetsu insisted, saying that her condition might take a lot of time. Reluctantly, Deidara agreed.

"Tobi, why..." Deidara asked but Zetsu dragged him out quickly.

Tobi was pleased at the situation and stealthily went inside the room. Making sure that nobody would see his secret, he locked the room and activated again his Sharingan.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it. Reviews are welcome.


	5. Old Acquaintances

A/N: Ah at last, the our internet line is back! Sorry for the delays. Enjoy!

* * *

Whatever It Is…

**Chapter V:**

**Old Acquaintances**

The battle had begun. Ren and Akane battled with all their might against the dark power inside Ren. Akane had summoned her boomerang and threw it to the enemy. The impostor made an impenetrable shield around her that all the attacks that the two made would be useless. Ren tried to teleport to the inside of the barrier but she was thrown out as soon as she got near. They also tried to combine their power to destroy the barrier but to no avail.

"Is that all you can do?" the impostor laughed evilly, "I expect that there would be a good fight between us."

"You want a good fight, huh?" Akane said irritably, "Then get out of that damn shell and I'll show you what a good fight is like!"

"Nah-ah-ah, that's what you call strategy, beginner." The impostor said teasingly while poking his tongue out.

Akane got enough of the insult and tugged the boomerang back to her. This time, she positioned herself as if she was going to throw a Frisbee. Ren could see a black, white, and brown glow around her. Ren shivered. It means that Akane was going to put all her energy on to that attack. Worse was…

"Sis," Ren called nervously, "remember, you were inside me. If this attack misses…"

"Chill out." Akane murmured and threw the boomerang with all her might.

The half of the boomerang crashed through the barrier but the impostor quickly reinforced the shield and the boomerang flew out and bounced around. Akane tried to catch it but she missed. Now, the boomerang was going to strike Ren inevitably!

"Ren-san!" Tobi suddenly shrieked and embraced her tightly the boomerang had hit him instead of Ren.

"Oh my gosh, Tobi!" Ren exclaimed while holding Tobi on her arms.

"Don't worry Ren-san, Tobi will be alright…" Tobi said assumingly, "Tobi just got a light scratch."

"THE HELL YOU WERE SAYING!? CAN'T YOU SEE THAT THERE'S A BOOMERANG TOWARDS ME!? WORST OF ALL, YOU GOT INJURED!" Ren said angrily while preventing tears to come out.

"Tobi's glad because Tobi saved Ren-san." Tobi said weakly but there's still a tone of joy.

Akane stared with horror at the two. She felt guilt and anger within her. She tugged again the boomerang back to her and closed her eyes.

"Look what you had made me to do…" Akane whispered then turning to Ren, "Go and heal your comrade. I'll finish this as quickly as possible."

"Sis…"

"Just go and do your thing!"

Ren obeyed and used her chakra to heal Tobi's wound. Akane closed her eyes for a minute. To everybody's surprise, they all saw that Akane had now crimson red eyes with three pupils—Sharingan.

"She has Sharingan!?" Tobi said to himself, "Wait…I think I remember someone who wasn't an Uchiha but had Sharingan, not the Copy Ninja, but could that be possible that it was her!?"

"Aha, now we are getting serious." The impostor said while putting out the barrier and readying to fight, "Better give me a good fight."

Akane made the first move. She jumped and threw a fan of kunai on the mid-air. The enemy side-stepped and threw a single kunai with a paper explosive tied to it. Akane twisted her body and evaded the attack then swiftly threw the boomerang towards the impostor. It almost cut the enemy's left arm if only she countered it by teleporting to another place.

"Dang, why isn't this power working with Tobi's wound?" Ren grumbled uneasily, "If this continues…"

"Tobi can't breathe…" the orange masked boy complained.

Ren started to panic. "W-what d-do you…mean?" she faltered

Tobi did not respond at his fellow Akatsuki member. Ren palpitated at him but he did not utter a single word. This time, Ren could not hide her tears. She didn't want to lose anybody important to her. She stood up without taking her eyes off to Tobi and suddenly, a silver aura enveloped her. Her eyes changed again into raven black iris with a steel gray pupil. She quickly summoned twin katana and dashed towards the undefeated fiend.

Akane suddenly stopped fighting, she can feel the tremendous power within Ren "What the heck!?" she suddenly said then looking at Ren and Tobi, "Hm, the thing I had put at the boomerang was powerful but it could only disarm the one who was hit. It can't really kill the victim. But I think she had no knowledge on this and thought that his comrade was dead. In any case, this could defeat that creep. I'd better hide behind her before I get involved with her wrath." She said to herself then jumping beside Tobi.

"So you've finally shown your capabilities, eh?" the impostor said coolly, "I've been itching to fight you again, Spirit of Light."

"Spirit of Light, what does that creep mean?" Akane said to herself while looking at Ren, "I know she's not human but…I'm very much confused."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ren replied hastily, "But one thing's for sure—you're DEAD!"

Ren gave a bunch of heavy strikes but the enemy evaded it like she was dancing. Ren got furious and summoned shadow clones to attack her quickly. It took awhile for her plan to work out until one of her attacks scratched the enemy's neck deeply. The impostor roared in pain then she waved her hand and all the clones disappeared and only the original Ren left there.

"Errgh, you like to play that tough." The impostor said haughtily, "I can play that kind of game too!"

A jet black aura rose from the ground. Her hair became silvery white. A strong gust of wind blew from the east that Akane and Ren must summon a pillar to hold on to. The wind blew stronger and stronger that it eventually turned into a hurricane. It whirled around and around then their enemy jumped in the middle of the hurricane then and the wind ceased.

"I am Kokoro, the Spirit of Blight." Kokoro said darkly followed by a horrifying echo, "The only way to dominate this body is to annihilate the two people who has the same power—you!"

"R-Ren-chan," Akane called out, "this is getting more serious. We have to combine our powers to defeat this thing."

Ren shook her head, "No sis, only I could defeat her, remember?" she said with determination.

Akane pouted, "I know that you are her half. But you had just returned to your senses! I don't think we should take that risk!"

"We have to… now that your power was weakened." Ren said sully as she prepared to attack.

* * *

Meanwhile outside Ren's room, Deidara was pacing back and forth impatiently while Zetsu sat on the sofa, talking to himself. It's been an hour and a half ever since Akane had entered Ren's consciousness but still then there was not single news.

"We shouldn't have trusted that stranger." Zetsu's white side said bitterly.

"**Don't doubt our decision, fool. I'm pretty sure we were right on our choice." **Zetsu's dark side confidently said.

"But there's not single news on what's happening!" Zetsu's white side argued.

"**That just mean that their enemy wasn't just an ordinary one," **the darker side explained, **"Let's just hope for the best."**

Deidara sighed. He's disappointed of himself that he could not help Ren. Absentmindedly, he went in front of the door of Ren's room and pushed it a little. He was surprised that the door didn't open. He pushed it a little harder but it didn't budge a bit.

"What could be wrong, un?" Deidara wondered to himself.

Suddenly, a black glare appeared quickly at the gap between the door and the wall. After that, a thick, black smoke escaped from the space. Panicking, Deidara pounded on the wall but the door did not open. He quickly made five clay spiders to open the door and attached it. Zetsu was about to inquire what's happening but Deidara quickly grabbed him and dragged him outside the hideout. Deidara made the seal and in no time, a small explosion commenced.

"And just what the heck are YOU doing!?" Zetsu asked furiously, "Have you lost your mind, trying to express your art sense _inside_ the headquarters?"

Deidara advanced inside the hideout as if he had heard nothing. Zetsu shrugged his shoulders and followed him through the thick smoke.

"Ren, what happened, un?" Deidara asked as soon as he got a hold of her arm.

He heard several coughing before the smoke disappeared in a flash. Then, Deidara saw Ren, leaning weakly against the wall. Ren passed out but Deidara caught her and placed her onto her bed.

"What just happened?" Zetsu asked, losing track of events.

"The culprit escaped, that's all." Akane said half sarcastically, half bitterly, "Oh and about your com—!"

She was about to tell about Tobi's condition but she saw Tobi, standing at the bedside as if nothing happened. Akane froze. She knew that kind of genjutsu that accidentally hit Tobi had a long lasting effect that the victim could regain consciousness after two weeks or so.

"There's only one person I know in this world who did counter that thing." Akane thought, "Could it be…no, no, he's not him. I know he's already dead. But why do I feel that it was him?"

"Akane-san," Tobi suddenly asked, "would Ren-san be alright?"

Akane stared at him keenly, "Y-yeah, she would be alright." She said coolly then turning to Deidara who was shaking Ren, "She just needs fresh air so move over, ma'am."

Deidara looked sharply at her, "What did you say, un!?" he whispered furiously.

"I said move over so Ren-chan could breathe more fresh air, ma'am."

"I'm not a girl!" Deidara shouted.

Akane chuckled, "Honestly, the first time I saw you, I thought you were a gay."

Deidara already lost his temper and almost threw all the clay bombs that he had made the whole day but Tobi and Zetsu managed to calm him down.

"Oh, sorry if I have offended you I am just so confused at your gender, _sir._" Akane said frankly. Then she grabbed Tobi by the collar and dragged him outside.

"And what do you think you are doing?" Zetsu asked sternly.

Akane turned back, "I just want to talk to him." She said then went outside with Tobi.

_"There's only one thing to confirm my suspicions."_ Akane thought.

* * *

"What do you want with Tobi?" Tobi whimpered when she released him.

Akane said nothing. She stretched her arms and breathed deeply. Tobi wondered if she would beat him up. But his fears slightly vanished when Akane flashed a friendly smile at him. Tobi sat down on the ground beneath the shade of a huge tree as Akane paced back and forth like a prisoner freed after long years of imprisonment.

"Ah, it's good to be back into my old self again. But frankly, I'm a bit afraid of going back into this world." Akane quipped, "Tell me, uh, Tobi right? How could you get into a person's consciousness?"

"Tobi doesn't know anything." Tobi said but when he saw Akane staring at him stonily she quivered, "T-Tobi is a g-good boy, Tobi doesn't l-lie." He stammered.

Akane sighed, "Don't you remember me?" she said seriously as she looked directly Tobi in the eye, "…Madara-sensei. I am Akane, the five year old kid you had taught many years ago."

A/N: I'll try to submit the other chapters sooner or later .Reviews are welcome.


	6. The Secret

A/N: Sorry for the late update, I'm just too busy to write because of school work. Enjoy reading!

* * *

Whatever It Is…

**Chapter VI:**

**The Secret**

"Tobi doesn't know what Akane-san is talking about." Tobi sighed, "Tobi doesn't know Madara."

Akane wrinkled her forehead, "Quit fooling around, sensei. You are the only one who could counter that kind of genjutsu!"

Tobi shook his head, "Tobi is confused."

"Please, sensei!" Akane pleaded, "I know we've just been together half a week but those times…those times were very memorable. Don't tell me you forgot about it!"

"Tobi is not your sensei!" Tobi insisted shakily, "Please Akane-san, you are scaring Tobi!"

Akane was about to tell something more but suddenly, the bushes nearby began to sway—someone's coming. Tobi jumped behind a tree in fright. Akane walked softly to see what was Tobi doing but to her disappointment, she saw Tobi, crouching while his knees knocking together. She noticed that something was wrong on Tobi—he peed in his pants. Frowning, she dragged Tobi to the clearing to meet the newcomer. It was Deidara. Akane could see that Deidara knew nothing of their conversation by the look of his face.

"Is there anything wrong, un?" Deidara asked innocently.

"Nothing's wrong." Akane whispered then she threw Tobi to Deidara, "Well, better clean your partner up. I'm going to the hideout to see Ren's condition."

Deidara stared at her with a half-confused face, "What do you mean by _clean him up, _un?"

Akane threw a mischievous look at him, "Why don't you ask him?" she said then hastily left.

Deidara wondered after her words for a minute. After that, he smelled something stinky. He traced the smell and the trail pointed to Tobi. He heard a liquid like splashing loudly to the ground and he saw that it came from Tobi. Realizing what Akane really meant, Deidara threw him away disgustingly. Tobi landed headfirst on the bushes. Struggling to get free, Tobi wriggled as hard as he could but he could not get loose. Irritated, Deidara yanked Tobi's leg and sent the orange masked boy sprawling to the ground.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH, Tobi, I'd never expect you'll do this humiliating thing, un!" Deidara screamed furiously, "How old are you to let yourself pee in your pants!"

"B-but, T-Tobi is scared," Tobi reasoned eagerly, "really scared."

"Scared of what, un?" Deidara scoffed, "Of the birds and trees, or of ghosts?"

"O-Of the moving bushes, and…"

"And what?"

"A-Akane-san." Tobi finished.

Deidara glared at him indignantly, "Why should you be afraid of her? I know she cannot be trusted but what did she do to make you pee like crazy, un?"

"She was trying to change Tobi's name!" Tobi confessed childishly.

"What!?"

"She said Tobi is Madara."

Deidara put his hand on his hip and glanced at him bewilderingly, "'Tobi is Madara'… but who the heck is Madara, un?"

Tobi shook his head sadly, "Tobi doesn't know."

Deidara shuddered, "Let's not think about it. Get up and let's go back to the hideout. And before you'll step inside our room, remember to take a bath. You stink, un."

"But Akane-san said Deidara-sempai would wash Tobi." Tobi said timidly.

Aggravated, Deidara handed Tobi a clay butterfly, which Tobi toyed earnestly, and left quickly. "Get lost, un." Deidara murmured performed a seal and in a split of a second, a small explosion happened.

* * *

"I think my speculations around him are all answered—he's not Madara-sensei." Akane thought half-seriously, "Sensei isn't a chicken."

As she strolled back to the hideout, she saw Ren standing at one of the doors, looking depressed. Upon seeing Akane, Ren rushed up to her. She seemed to be pretty weak but Ren tried her best to show everybody that she's fine.

"Ren-chan," Akane cried crossly, "you shouldn't be moping around this place!"

"Sis, don't worry about me." Ren assured her, "Remember that…"

"You are now a human being for heaven's sake, Ren-chan!" Akane said worriedly, "You aren't a freeloader inside my body now. You have a body now of your own and most of all… you are tangible and vulnerable to everything so better take care of that vessel of yours."

Ren lowered her head, showing Akane that she was regretful that she was so reckless about herself.

"…But it is…" Ren began.

"It _was…_" Akane corrected, "It was my body…years and years ago. I admit that I could not easily get used to this but, there's nothing we could do now." She said simply then entered the hideout followed by Ren.

Inside the hideout, not a sound could be heard. Ren led the newcomer to the kitchen to prepare a little snack for the two of them. Neither she nor Akane remembered the last time they had eaten a scrap of food. Now feeling starved, Ren mixed anything she could find edible at the refrigerator. After heating and making the food a bit presentable, Ren served it in front of her guest. The two didn't really mind whether it taste good or not, they just wanted to have something to fill their stomachs. While they were eating their meal, Ren suddenly looked up to Akane.

"Sis could you do me a favor." Ren asked solemnly.

Akane raised an eyebrow, "Go ahead."

"Konan-san, one of the members of Akatsuki, had been Kokoro's first victim." Ren said gravely, "Strangely enough, I could not detect any wound that caused her coma. I wish you could help me."

Akane looked at her sharply, "When did THOSE happen?"

"What sis?"

"When did you talk to them and when did the incident happen."

"I talked to leader-sama a few hours after I considered myself already awake and ready to walk around." Ren told her proudly, "And about what happened to Konan-san…" then she stopped dead.

Akane eyed her impatiently, "What happened?"

"Um, she was injured when Kokoro's still inside my body." Ren said sadly, "The bad thing is…"

Akane sprang from her seat, "I would help! Kokoro was inside my…'ahem'… your body when that happened, I guess. I also think I look like her when that happened right?"

Ren nodded.

"Then it's settled." Akane said confidently as she and Ren knocked and pushed the door together.

"I hope leader-sama would not let his anger throw off balance." Ren prayed silently.

The two saw a very bleak room. After their eyes adjusted in the dark, they faintly saw the spiky, orange haired leader of the Akatsuki, standing beside the still as death, light blue haired woman with a paper flower tucked behind her ear. Ren gulped quietly as she called the Akatsuki leader's attention.

"Leader-sama, this is um…my sister Akane." Ren introduced, "She is here because…"

"…because it is my responsibility." Akane put in, "Your partner was injured because of that fiend. I know that I look like Kokoro but if you'll allow me, I might able to fix her."

Pein looked at the two 'sisters' quite suspiciously.

"Just trust me…" Akane said confidently, "I'll do my very best to make her wake up."

Pein sighed, "Fine…" he said weakly then left the two in the state of confusion.

"I didn't really expect him to agree…"Ren murmured

"Whatever…" Akane said then looked at Ren, "You will have to go outside too." She mysteriously said.

"What, me too!?"

"Yeah so get out now and mingle a little with your 'friends'." Akane dictated her.

"Friends, huh? Fine, I'll go out." Ren declared and went out of the room.

Akane locked the door from the inside quietly. She tiptoed quietly to the unconscious blue haired woman and she started stretching her arms. Suddenly, a silvery chakra surrounded Konan and Akane as the ex-ANBU's eyes became pitch black.

"Alright," Akane whispered, "time to get to work!"

* * *

"What the heck is sis thinking?" Ren thought worriedly as she sat with the Akatsuki members at the common room.

Deidara just recently came in, dragging Tobi. He was about to throw his childish partner into their room to beat him up but when he saw Ren, he dropped Tobi to meet her. Deidara was not sure what to think or do but he felt that he must talk to her.

"Ren…can I talk with you, un?" Deidara timidly asked.

Ren's eyes widened, "What is it, Deidara-san?"

Deidara first took a long deep breath. He had so many questions but he was unsure how to ask it.

"Deidara??"

"Who or what are you, un?" Deidara burst out.

"Ren-san is an Akatsuki member!!!" Tobi declared

"No, that's not what I mean!" Deidara shouted back at his partner, "What I mean is…"

"There are so many things that we do not understand about you and your sister…" Pein suddenly put up, "We don't usually care about the lives of other people but this time, I think you two must give us an explanation."

Ren shook her head, "I'm sorry, it's a very long story to tell."

"Just go and tell us…pleeeaassse?" Tobi begged earnestly.

Ren looked around. A dark shadow fell upon her face, "I don't really want to talk about the roots of this feud but if you desperately want to know, then… alright."

Everybody formed a circle inside their meeting room. Ren requested that they should wait for Akane before telling their story. Nobody spoke a word as they waited for Akane. Deidara and Tobi noticed that it was really hard for Ren to tell her story—her face was quite colorless. Suddenly, the door creaked open and Akane entered with an emotionless face. Pein stared at her coldly but suddenly his face lit up as Konan entered the room and sat beside Pein. The leader was pleased to see his parnter alive but it was not evident to the other members.

"Sis," Ren whispered, "what did you do?"

Akane smirked, "It's a secret."

Ren sighed, "Sis, they wanted to know our story."

"What!?" Akane shouted, "But I'm not good at storytelling!" she protested.

"So we're going to do 'it'?"

"We have no choice."

Everybody gave a suspicious glance at each other as Akane gave Ren an odd looking scroll. Ren spread it on the floor and performed a different kind of hand seal. Suddenly, the walls began to melt.

"W-what's happening!?" Tobi asked fearfully

"This is what you call flashback." Ren declared.

* * *

All of a sudden, there was a huge temple in front of them. It had a weird shape and there were crystals that surround the whole place. The building itself was completely quaint. As Pein observed those crystals, he noticed that there was something moving inside those crystals.

"Is this….chakra!?" Pein asked

"Yeah…." Ren said sadly, "those were the chakra of the people who were not deemed worthy to enter our home."

"This IS your home?" Deidara queried.

"Ren and Kokoro's…" Akane replied

Suddenly, there was a thirty year old man dashed past them, carrying an almost lifeless infant in his arms. They crystals became alive and turned into golems. The man stopped and gave the baby to a twenty-two year old woman who was following close behind her. Itachi noticed the insignia on their forehead protectors—they were from Hidden Rain village.

"_Riko, take care of Akane, this won't take too long." The man commanded_

"_Daichi," Riko said worriedly, "we are not really sure if the spirits will co-operate. What if we endanger our child's life more because of our actions?"_

"_We have no choice. If we want her to live, we must disregard the cost." He said sadly_

"And who's that?" Tobi asked while they watched the man fight the golems by himself.

Akane lowered her eyes, "My parents… Daichi and Riko"

"I must say that your father is an excellent shinobi." Pein admitted as he watched Akane's father fight.

"Sure is…." Ren said a bit enviously.

"What does it have to do with the main picture?" Zetsu asked impatiently.

As if for a reply, Ren speeded up the events. They were now inside the temple. It seemed like a ruins: the pillars were broken down and the walls were badly damaged. The only thing that looked decent in there was the platinum silver altar where the two silver auras were residing. One was lighter in color, one was darker. They found Daichi and Riko talking to those two.

"_We have seen that you are worthy to enter." The first one said, "What is your request?"_

"_Please," Akane's mother begged, "our child is inflicted by some mysterious, incurable curse. It was eating the soul of our child little by little. Help us."_

_The two auras were silent for awhile then one of them answered, "We can remove the curse. But there is a catch."_

"_What catch?"_

"_We can remove the current curse but it must be replaced by another curse."_

"_What!?"_

"_We are longing for a vessel for us to reside. She is the perfect person."_

"_Is that all?"_

"_Unfortunately, no: Because of our presence, this child will have such tremendous power—power that will make people wage war with each other just to acquire her like a great, destructive weapon. She will always leave a trail of blood as long as we are there. Do you wish to continue?"_

"Trail of blood, eh?" Itachi muttered under his breath, "Very interesting."

The two thought for a moment. Would this be a right decision?

"…_.proceed, we agree with your conditions…" Akane's father said gravely._

"_Daichi! Don't you mean that you wanted her to be a monster!?"_

"_Well, do you want her to live?"_

"_I do but I don't want her to live a miserable life."_

"_Don't worry. It won't hurt a bit." The darker aura said, "Anybody who opposes her, she can destroy them without touching them."_

_Daichi looked seriously at his wife,"In this world full of wars, we may not be able to protect her at all times."_

_The woman hung her head, "I don't know what to do. It's all up to you now."_

In a flash, the two auras vanished. Daichi and Riko looked around but they discovered that they were all alone. A dim, grayish glow surrounded the baby and then it vanished. Baffled, everybody looked closely at the baby. It began to sob and to cry. Of course, her parents were delighted but they were struck with horror as the infant opened her eyes. They felt as if something was strongly pulling out their soul—as if a slow death was happening upon them. They quickly noticed that baby Akane's eyes changed from raven black to steel gray. Not enduring the torture anymore, Daichi wound the baby's head with an empty scroll and the effects vanished.

"_Daichi!" Riko scolded, "What have you done?"_

"_If I haven't done it, we'll die!"_

"_But—!"_

_Daichi sighed, "I can't believe that this is the cost! They hadn't tricked us, had they?"_

But before the woman could answer, the scenery vanished and it returned to the dull gray room.

"Hey, what happened?" Tobi asked. "The ending is not yet there. Is Tobi right, Ren-san?"

All put their eyes on Ren but they found her sitting against the wall with her knees touching her forehead. They heard a faint sob at Ren's direction.

"Are you alright, un?" Deidara asked.

"…no." Ren said gravely.

"You're tired, right?" Zetsu queried.

"**That sucks, I'm pretty interested with their story!" **Zetsu's darker side told to his other side.

"No Zetsu-san, I'm fine." Ren replied, "But I'm sorry, I cannot show you this one, even to sis."

"Hey, that means I do not know everything about us!?" Akane said. "That's not fair!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Kisame asked

"Wait, there is an intruder!" Zetsu said

They all wheeled and they saw Kokoro standing near the door! Everybody got themselves ready but they soon realized that the figure was just like an astral projection of her. She gave an insulting laugh before speaking.

"What now, Spirit of Light, afraid to reveal the truth, huh, big liar?" Kokoro said as if taunting Ren.

"What truth?" Akane confusingly said.

Kokoro looked Akane in the eye, "Listen poor victim, this 'Ren' here told not your parents everything about our plans with you."

"SHUT UP!" Ren cried hoarsely, "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO PLANNED THAT THING ALL ALONG!!!"

"But," Ren's twin aura said coolly, "that doesn't change the fact that you liked the idea."

Tobi scratched his head "Uhh…Tobi is REALLY confused."

"Me either." The rest of the original Akatsuki members thought.

"W-what thing?" Akane asked.

Kokoro shifted her eyes towards Ren, "Why don't you ask your 'sis'?" she slyly said to Akane then vanished.

Ren froze she wasn't prepared for that situation. Akane walked towards her 'sister' and looked her in the eye, "Something tells me that I should believe that creep even though I don't want to. But tell me; is there something that you are hiding from me?"

Ren was silent. She just looked at the floor.

"Tell me." Akane said sternly.

Ren stared Akane for a long time. Tears welled up on her steel gray eyes.

* * *

A/N: Wondering what will happen next? Give me a review first. :P


	7. Revelation of the Invisible Barrier

Whatever It Is…

**Chapter VII:**

**Revelation of the Invisible Barrier**

Ren gulped uneasily as she slowly stretched forth her hand to return them back into the scene. The scenery melted again rapidly but before Akane's mom replied, Ren collapsed!

"What the—!"Akane gasped as she ran towards her 'twin', "are you alright!?" she nervously asked.

"N-no….I-I can't tell you this one!" Ren stammered as she shakily stood up and ran away from the hideout, "The consequence is too great for me to handle!" she shouted as she burst into tears.

Akane dared to follow her but Ren made it clear that she did not want to be followed. As soon as Akane stepped out of the room, an unknown force threw her back inside and abruptly shut the door. Akane tried to undo the trap but her power was not strong enough to do so. Dejected, Akane sat on the floor as she felt Ren's chakra disappearing. Deidara, meanwhile, made clay birds and tried to blow up the walls of the room but he was unsuccessful.

Nobody had a clue about Ren. What was the secret behind that scene that she was so afraid that if she revealed it to them, she would reduce to ashes? Was it really a big thing that she could not handle the consequence? What was the consequence anyway? Those thoughts bugged their minds as they sat helplessly on the floor, unable to get out.

Suddenly, the door burst open and they found Tobi standing in front of them, carrying the poor Ren over his shoulder.

"What's wrong with Ren-san?" Tobi asked innocently.

"How did you—" Deidara asked, shocked at the turn of events

"Tobi 'bumped' to her." the masked boy said simply as he laid down the girl in the center of the circle.

"Tobi, she was knocked out cold." Akane sternly answered him as she looked towards Ren, "Are you sure that you just 'bumped' to her?"

"Ummm…." Tobi lagged.

"Whatever happened," Pein butted in, "we must know first what Ren is hiding, right?"

"Yeah, I think so too, un!" Deidara declared as the others agreed with their leader

"Honestly," Itachi said to himself, "who cares if she hides something from us?"

Akane tried to redo the seal Ren made. Everybody was silent. This time, they knew, the secret would be revealed. A bright flash appeared out of nowhere and in an instant; they were back in the scene.

* * *

"_Is it more than you can handle? Frankly, we're just showing you a very small portion of our power."_

"_Who said that!?" the woman asked._

"_We are here…right in her father's arms…."_

All of them looked at the baby. It wasn't long until they realized that the two spirits did their job. But nobody thought that it would come into this. It was too late when they realized the spirits were not true to their word. Akane's father threw the baby away from them in contempt. To their surprise, the baby was neither killed nor bruised.

"_We can't just let our new vessel die that easily."_

"_You said that you'll just reside in her!" _Riko shouted

"_Ha, of course a vessel must be used too, simpleton!"_

"_No! You never said you'll use her!" _Akane's mother protested.

"_That will be a good lesson for you. Next time, try to determine the fine lines." _Kokoro snickered.

As the conversation became fiercer, nobody noticed that Daichi was already preparing a seal—a very strong, forbidden seal that only his family knew. He secretly pulled another scroll from his vest pocket and quickly wrote some symbols then laid open the scroll on the floor. While Riko was protesting, Daichi performed a seal that made a black circle around the accursed child. It was then too late when the two spirits realized that they had been trapped around a cylindrical prison.

"_I never thought I will use this on my very own…"_Daichi said sadly, _"Forgive me."_

Akane's mother tried to stop her husband, _"Daichi, Akane will die if you do this!"_

"_It is all but a miserable mistake."_ Daichi shouted,_ "I'd rather let the child die in an incurable disease than allowing her to live in expense ofselling her soul to demons like them!"_

His wife said no more. She knew her spouse would not be stopped by any means. Akane, in the meanwhile, could not believe what she was seeing. Ren never told her anything about this one— as long as she could remember.

"_Let me go you bastard!"_Kokoro screamed while struggling free

But her screams were futile. In a matter of seconds, a bright light flashed and they discovered that the baby was just lying there, without a sound. Akane's mother rushed to the poor child and cradled her in her arms. Sobbing, Riko tried to find signs of life but it was hopeless. Daichi went forward to comfort his wife but as soon as he patted the child, baby Akane cried loudly! The parents were delighted to the fullest and were convinced that those bothersome spirits were gone. They went back peacefully to the village.

"So, what's the big deal, un?" Deidara asked, "Their story isn't that bad."

"Yay," Tobi suddenly chirped, "Tobi likes happy endings!"

"Oh, shut your mouth, un!" Deidara said as he kicked Tobi.

"It's not really….happy, Tobi." A voice behind them sadly said.

They wheeled around and saw Ren standing behind them. Her steel gray eyes were glistened by tears of the fault which she tried to conceal for so long. Akane started to walked towards her but Ren suddenly pointed to the picture of the 'happy' family. All of them were instructed to look at the baby's eyes. When they looked closely at the baby, they noticed that there was a hint of steel gray color in the iris.

"Hey, that means…" Tobi said.

"Daichi only succeeded in sealing Kokoro." Ren declared, "But not me."

"**Wow, what a twist." **Zetsu's dark side remarked.

Akane sighed, "I do recall that when I was still at Konoha, I could hear voices in my head. And actually, I felt that it was my best friend or should I say, my only family."

Ren smiled wryly at her, "…and she gave me a name which I considered to be my real name."

Akane flashed a smile, "Yeah, and now I remember. Ren's 'real' name is… Mitsuko."

"Ren-san's name is Mitsuko?!" Tobi asked half alarmingly, "But what will Tobi call Ren-san now?"

"And...." Deidara added as he made a glance on Ren, "what do mean by not-so-happy ending, un?"

"Hey hey, fellas, one question at a time!" Akane glared at Tobi and Deidara then looked at Ren sharply, "There's nothing in there that'll make you shiver like crazy. Now tell me, why are you so afraid on the things WE both know?"

"You're wrong..." Ren replied quietly, "There are some things that you don't know about is a line that divides our lives asunder. We aren't the same, you know?"

Akane looked like as if she was struck by lightning. All this time... she thought that there weren't any barriers between them. She was confident that Ren's memories were also hers. She always considered "Ren" as her twin soul. What were the things that this one know that she didn't know?

Silence baffled the whole group. Nobody knew what was happening. Ren realized that she must break the barrier between them. It was for Akane's own good...and also, it was for her own good. But how could she suddenly unearth the things she buried for years? Almost every minute she made sure that the barrier between their memories wouldn't break and now she would decide to reveal the secret that would destroy ALL of her plans--

Plans? The word rang a bell inside her head. It seemed that her past was still foggy but slowly, the light of truth shone upon it and revealed the real her. It stung her greatly, unable to accept herself but she forcefully swallowed it. She fully knew what really happened that night. The murder wasn't just a twist of fate--somebody did it stealthily.

"I--I killed your parents." Ren said softly, "I instructed the Rain shinobis patrolling nearby to get your parents."

Akane's eyes widened, "Ren, you're joking, right?"

"No...I am not."

Akane stood there in silence as Ren's steel gray eyes became shiny silver. She felt her skull was being ripped apart, as if something was forcefully being removed inside her brain. The incising pain was getting more intense-- she could bear it no longer. Her cold, sweaty hands clutched her blood red hair. The pain wasn't stopping. Her pale lips moved vigorously but no sound came out of it. Her eyes searched for something to ease her pain but Deidara, Tobi, and the other Akatsuki members stood there, trapped in another dimension. She looked at Ren, but her eyes continued to glow like the light of the fireflies. The she felt her blood ran wildly to her veins, desperately desiring to get out of her.

"Ren, stop it!" Akane screamed helplessly

Then the pain stopped suddenly. Akane knelt down with her head facing the floor. She suddenly felt as if something returned to her. She looked up and saw Ren with her hands full of blood. Akane now understood everything. She slowly stood up and pulled out a kunai.

"You damn murderer!" Akane shouted hoarsely then dashed towards Ren, attempting to stab her in the heart.

* * *

A/N: I'm really sorry for the late updates. I'm really busy with the school work.... Pls review...


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